It was a tough battle, but America voted for Taylor Swift as the 2023 Video of the Year winner at the MTV Video Music Awards.
“OK, this is unbelievable,” Swift, 33, said after receiving her fourth Moonperson on Tuesday, September 12. “The fact that this is a fan-voted award means so much to me based on the memories we’ve made together recently.”
Swift, who won for “Anti-Hero,” gave her loyal fans a shout-out for turning out in droves on her Eras Tour the past few months. “It really felt like the adventure of a lifetime,” she said of the sold-out concerts. (She also took home trophies for Best Pop, Song of the Year and Best Direction earlier in the night.)
“All I have to say tonight is thank you. I’m blown away,” Swift concluded. “Thank you so much.”
The Video of the Year recipient beat out a slew of A-list talent to take home the Moonperson trophy.
Swift’s “Anti-Hero” had to compete with Doja Cat for “Attention,” Miley Cyrus with “Flowers” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire.” VMAs emcee Nicki Minaj earned a nod in the category for “Super Freaky Girl” as did SZA for “Kill Bill” and Sam Smith and Kim Petras for their collab on “Unholy.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s live event, many fans believed that Swift, 33, would steal the show — and the coveted award — after previously breaking records at the 2022 event.
Swift was the first artist to win Video of the Year three times after she received the 2022 title for “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” off her album Red (Taylor’s Version).
“Before this, I had directed and written my music videos, but I had never directed a short film before. … We put our entire hearts into this trying to make something that might be worthy of the love that you, the fans have shown this song,” Swift said in August 2022 while accepting the award for Breakthrough Long Form Video for the same song. “Thank you for this beautiful indication that we did something right.”
She proceeded to gush over her fans when she took the stage for the 2022 Video of the Year honor. “You guys, I’m just so proud of what we made, and I know with every second of this moment that we wouldn’t have been able to make this short film if it weren’t for you, the fans,” an overwhelmed Swift said. “Because I wouldn’t be able to rerecord my albums if it weren’t for you.”
This year, Swift led the way at the VMAs with 11 total nominations. Fellow Video of the Year nominee SZA, 33, earned eight nods this year followed closely by Doja Cat, 27, Cyrus, 30, Minaj, 40, and Rodrigo, 20, with six nominations each and Petras and Smith, both 31, with five nods apiece.
